, 1887-09-22
A BALED BABY.
Remarkable Discovery at Laird &
Thomas Ranch.
The Remains of a Negro Baby in a
Bale of Imported Hay.
The Corpse Shipped From Old Ken,
lucky to Colorado.
The Coroner of Weld County, Colo
RADIO, Will Investigate.

a cowboy who rode into this city from
the Colorado ranch of Laird & Thomas
yesterday related the startling particulars
of a most appalling discovery which the
foreman of the ranch made yesterday
morning, The Laird & Thomas ranch is
about twelve miles from this city in a
southeasterly direction and about five
miles from any other ranch or a Travelled
road, and in what might properly be
termed an isolated locality. 1t is situated
in a large ravine or depression in the roll
ing prairie, and Notwithstanding the well
known fact that Messrs. Laird & Thomas
and their employees are honest and re.
spected citizens Is Just such a locality as a
band of freebooters would select as a
rendezvous, being in a sparsely settled
region and reasonably distant from other
human habitations.
In the present instance the modern
novelist would be disappointed, for the
cowboy related no tale of bloodshed and
robbery.
Laird and Thomas are engaged in the
business of breeding graded sheep. They
market pedigreed bucks in nearly every
state in the union, and when this firm I'M
bends and mingles with outsiders to the ex-
tent of sending specimens of their stock
to the Weld county fair the animals are
returned to the ranch adorned with the
blue ribbons which are invariably con-
coded to them without any opposition
whatever. The owners of these blooded
animals do not feed them ordinary food.
Bucks for the market are fattened on a
menu of blue grass and Indian corn,
while the most worthless sheep about the
place daily eats large quantities of the
former.
Last month the firm found their sup
ply of blue grass would be exhausted be-
fore their crop of the succulent food
would mature. In order to avoid a change
in the bill of fare of the wool producers
the enterprising Laird, who is a far see
ing Yankee, ordered a large consignment
of the grass from the state so famous for
that product, whisky, handsome women
and fast horses. The hay arrived at a
Kansas Pacific station in due time and
was soon hauled to the ranch and placed
in sheds.
The sheep consumed the imported
article and apparently relished it, and the
transaction was unnoticed beyond the
objections of Thomas to the additional
expense incurred.
We'll, here goes the twentieth bale of
this Kentucky truck" said Thomas yes.
terday morning as he loosed the wire
thongs from a bundle which he had
carried into a sheep pen and began to
scatter it in order that the animals might
not scramble over each other in their
struggles to secure a portion of the meal.
Thomas hand, in searching for an arm
full near the center of the bale, came in
contact with something which he knew to
be a foreign substance. He hastily re-
moved a sufficient quantity of the hay to
enable him to view the strange object,
What was his horror, his feelings of
awe and establishment to behold the half
decayed remains of a female negro child,
evidently between four and six years of
age.
Thomas was terrified at the unexpected
and repulsive discovery and hastened to
the house for aid. Laird and three
employees of the ranch returned immedi-
ately to the spot where the frightened
man had reported the discovery of the
repulsive find. They could see no more
than Thomas had reported. The dead
child bore no marks of violence and must
certainly have been smothered to death.
1t was clothed poorly, after the man
ner Of attire adopted by negroes in mod
crate circumstances, and bore no orna-
ments by which it might be identified.
Mr.. Laird at once hurried to the near
est telegraph station and wired Knox &
Morgan, Louisville, KY, of whom he
purchased the hay. the particulars Of the
mysterious affair. Whether he received
answer or not is unknown. As Knox
& Morgan are commission merchants, the
probabilities are that they can throw no
light on the occurrence, and perhaps the
perpetrators of the outrageous crime will
never be apprehended.
That a cruel and unnecessary murder
has been committed is certain, and that
the criminals should be punished goes
without saying. The remains of the I'M
fortunate little fodder will be turned over
to the coroner of Weld county, Colorado, |
who promises to investigate the matter
thoroughly.
Several gentlemen learned of the occur
ence last evening, among them Register
Wilson, of the land office. He said that
years ago he knew of a full grown negro
who had been accused of ~witchcraft by a
number of fellow slaves, being murdered
and placed in a bale of cotton and after
wards taken from his tomb at a cotton
mill. He ys,r-and very truly, that a
thousand theories might be advanced as
to the cause of the presence of the poor
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